The present invention relates to an electronic device in which electrical power transfer and signal transfer are realized by exchanging physical energy among devices.
Recently devices have been proposed in which, when a portable electronic device such as a portable terminal or an electronic timepiece is contained in a battery charger called a xe2x80x9cstationxe2x80x9d, data transfer is performed between the portable electronic device and the station along with charging of the portable electronic device. When the charging or the data transfer is arranged to be performed via electrical contacts, since these electrical contacts are exposed, a problem arises with respect to waterproofing. Because of this, it is desired that the charging or the signal transfer be arranged to be performed in a noncontact manner by means of electromagnetic coupling caused by inductors provided in the station and the portable electronic device.
In such an arrangement, when a high frequency signal is applied to the inductor of the station, an external magnetic field occurs and then an induced voltage is generated across the inductor on the part of the portable electronic device. By rectifying this induced voltage using a diode or the like, a secondary battery incorporated in the portable electronic device can be charged in a noncontact manner. Due to electromagnetic coupling between both inductors, the data transfer can be performed in a noncontact manner from the station to the portable electronic device and/or from the portable electronic device to the station.
The charging of the secondary battery incorporated in the portable electronic device and the data transfer between the station and the portable electronic device is performed using the same principle, that is, these are performed by applying a high frequency signal to the inductor. Therefore, when a user performs the charging during the data transfer between the station and the portable electronic device, since the portable electronic device determines that abnormal data is transmitted, there is a risk that the portable electronic device may malfunction, which is against the intentions of the user. Likewise, since the charging and the data transfer are performed using the same principle, data communication cannot be performed during the charging.
Therefore, a conventional electronic device distinguishes a charging mode from a communication mode. By exclusively enabling one of the charging and the data communication to be performed within a predetermined period, the conventional electronic device is controlled so as to prevent malfunctioning. In this case in which the charging mode and the communication mode are exclusively switched, when the data communication requires a long time and when the voltage of the secondary battery of the portable electronic device drops, since transition must be made from the communication mode to the charging mode after the termination of a sequence of the communication, the secondary battery cannot be charged instantly. Accordingly, there is a problem that the secondary battery voltage drop causes communication quality to be degraded. There is a proposition in which the charging of the secondary battery is performed by rectifying the communication data during the communication mode. However, this proposition is a problem that the secondary battery is overcharged when the communication takes a long time.
The present invention provides an electronic device in which, without causing malfunction, improvement of usability can be achieved by enabling charging and data communication to be performed among discrete devices when the user desires.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an electronic device in which electrical power transfer and data transfer are performed by exchanging physical energy with an opposing device, the electronic device includes a packet creating unit for creating a packet having a format corresponding to the electrical transfer or the data transfer and a superposing unit for superposing the created packet created by the packet creating unit onto the physical energy.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in an electronic device in which electrical power transfer and data transfer are performed by exchanging physical energy with an opposing device, the electronic device includes an extracting unit for extracting a packet superposed on the physical energy generated from the opposing device, a packet determining unit for determining a packet format extracted by the extracting unit, and a control unit performing either electrical power reception or data reception based on the determination result by the packet determining unit.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in an electronic device in which a first device and a second device are provided, and electrical power transfer and data transfer are performed by exchanging physical energy between the first device and the second device, the first device is provided with a packet creating unit for creating a packet having a format corresponding to electrical power transfer or data transfer and a superposing unit for superposing the packet created by the packet creating unit onto the physical energy, and the second device is provided with an extracting unit for extracting the packet superposed on the physical energy, a packet determining unit for determining a packet format extracted by the extracting unit, and a control unit for performing either electrical power reception or data reception based on the determination result by the packet determining unit.
According to the first aspect (the third aspect), by providing an instructing unit for selectively instructing either the electrical power transfer or the data transfer with the electronic device (the first device), the packet creating unit may create the packet having the format corresponding to the transfer instructed by the instructing unit. In addition, in a case in which an electrical power transfer request is transmitted from the opposing device, the instructing unit may give an electrical power transfer instruction.
According to the first aspect (the third aspect), the packet creating unit may create a data transfer format packet by storing an appropriate error detection code in a region for storing an error detection code provided in the packet when the data transfer format packet is created, and may create an electrical power transfer format packet by storing an inappropriate error detection code therein when the electrical power transfer format data is created.
According to the second aspect (the third aspect), alternatively, a converting unit for converting the physical energy generated from the opposing device into electrical energy and a secondary battery are further provided in the electronic device (second device), and in a case in which the packet format determined by the packet determining unit is an electrical power transfer format, a charging control unit for charging the secondary battery using the electrical energy is provided in the control unit. In addition, the electronic device (the second device) may be provided with a voltage detecting unit for detecting the voltage of the secondary battery when the packet is received, and a charging-request transmission unit for, in a case in which the voltage of the secondary battery is a predetermined value or less, transmitting a request for charging to the first device to the opposing device (the first device).
According to the second aspect (the third aspect), the electronic device (the second device) may be provided with a storing unit for storing data therein, and a storage control unit for, in a case in which the packet format determined by the packet determining unit is a data transfer format, allowing the received data to be stored in the storing unit.
According to the second aspect (the third aspect), the packet determining unit may error-detect the packet extracted by the extracting unit and may determine the packet format based on the result of the error detection.